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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060280">Just the way you are</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyGeorgi/pseuds/IvyGeorgi'>IvyGeorgi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Slow Burn, dagcup, mer!cup, mermaid au</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 18:35:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,828</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24060280</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/IvyGeorgi/pseuds/IvyGeorgi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Dagur is back in Hiccup's life after three years and Hiccup can't not notice how much the older boy had changed. After some time, Hiccup realises he's really starting to like that guy, but it's all much more complicated when you take into account the fact that Hiccup is a half merman and has to keep it a secret.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dagur the Deranged &amp; Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Dagur the Deranged/Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. The Pool party</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story is slightly inspired by the TV show H2O Just Add Water, but things are more realistic and the main characters (Hiccup and Dagur) are gay.</p><p>I want to apologise for any grammar or spelling mistakes. This is my first fanfic in english and english is not my native language, so please be aware of that.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Hiccup, remember how you used to make those pool parties at your house when we were kids?" Astrid asked her friend as both of them were walking out of the school building.</p><p>"Of course I do. Those were a lot of fun," Hiccup smiled and looked away from his phone, remembering all that fun he had with his small group of friends.</p><p>"I was wondering, what if you made a party like that again?" the blondy asked, bright smile on her face as she looked at the boy.</p><p>Hiccup stopped walking and looked at her with a bit disappointed expression. "You know I can't," he said, putting his phone in his pocket. "You know exactly why I stopped making these parties."</p><p>Astrid's smile loosened. She knew well why Hiccup didn't want to make any more parties. "Well, maybe if you would invite only the people who know?"</p><p>"That's only three people, if I'm counting my dad," Hiccup shrugged. "But still, I can't risk growing a tail in front of everyone."</p><p>Astrid kept looking at him with a troubled look and didn't say anything at first, but then she spoke. "You know that you can't be like this for the rest of you life. You know that you can't keep hiding. And, I mean, it's not like you're in a mortal danger or anything," she giggled at the last sentence, but then stopped and put an arm on Hiccup's shoulder, "What happened to you cannot stop you from living like a normal person. You just have to be more careful in some cases."</p><p>Hiccup looked her in the eye, then down at the ground again. He knew she was right. From the day he changed, he was always hiding, he was scared of anyone who didn't know his secret. He became distant and, because of this, he kinda started getting picked up on again. And he also hated that everyone, including himself, took it as some sort of a problem and never straight up said what it was. It made him always feel like if it was a bad thing.</p><p>He wanted to change all of that. He wanted to live a life just like everyone else. He didn't want to feel like a beast anymore.</p><p>He looked up in Astrid's eyes again, this time with a slight smile on his lips. "You're right."</p><p>Astrid smiled at him and put her arm away. "See? And after all, it's not like we live in H2o: Just add water where you barely touch the water and magically change into a fish," she joked with a smirk, throwing her arms in the air.</p><p>Hiccup immediately bursted out laughing at that remark, almost not being able to breathe. Astrid was always able to make him smile and laugh when he was feeling down and she always made him feel at least a bit  better. He was grateful for her.</p><p>"You're right, Astrid. I should be proud to be a merman!" Hiccup exclaimed, not caring that there might be people around hearing them and he started laughing again.</p><p> </p><p>* * * * *</p><p> </p><p>A few days later, on Friday specifically, Hiccup came back home feeling very optimistic about the pool party he had organised for today. He listened to Astrid's words and decided to start living like a normal person again, not being restricted so much.</p><p>He came into the kitchen and opened the fridge, searching for a little snack. When he closed the fridge door, he noticed his dad sitting on the couch, reading some kind of a book. In that moment, the boy realised he still haven't told his father about his idea of making  party. And he knew he should have told him..</p><p>"Dad, just wanted to let you know that I organised a small pool party for today."</p><p>Stoick immediately looked away from his book at his son, concerned look on his face. "What?" was all he said.</p><p>"Yeah. I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier," Hiccup shrugged, carefully opening the plastic wrap of a chocolate bar. He took a bite before he looked back at his father, whom just kept staring at him with almost a shocked look.</p><p>"Hiccup, that's not what I'm concerned about," Stoick spoke, putting his book at a coffee table. "We haven't organised a party like this for three years. And you know it was because of... What started happening to you."</p><p>Hiccup rolled his eyes at how his dad was even scared to say it. "Dad, could we please stop talking about it like if I had a period or something?" he requested, taking another bite from the chocolate bar. "I'm tired of hiding all the time. I'm tired of treating w-who I am - of treating myself - like if it was a disability or something bad that we're not allowed to say out loud. I mean, of course I don't want to tell everyone I am a merman," saying that out loud actually felt pretty good and relieving, "but between the people that know about it... It just feels like if there was something wrong with me. I just want to feel normal."</p><p>There was a moment of silence between them. Hiccup's good mood was suddenly gone and he started being nervous about what his father was going to say. Was he going to be mad? Or was he going to support him?</p><p>Stoick sighed and slowly stood up from the couch. He then approached Hiccup with a bit troubled face. "I understand that, Hiccup." he spoke softly and put both of his arms on Hiccup's skinny shoulders. "I actually thought about this before, and maybe I have been treating you like if... Being a merman was something bad and like if we should pretend it's not happening."</p><p>Hiccup was surprised by the fact that his father actually said that word. He never said it directly.</p><p>"But I want you to know that it was all to protect you. I never meant to make you feel inferior."</p><p>"Yeah, I understand that, dad," Hiccup sighed. "But I was never in any mortal danger. And I was always careful... Maybe a little bit too much."</p><p>He gave Stoick a little smile and shrugged his shoulders a bit. Stoick kept his serious look, but his expression softened eventually.</p><p>"Alright then." Stoick took his big hands of Hiccup's shoulders. "You are allowed to make the pool parties again, only if there's going to be at least one person who knows."</p><p>Hiccup gave his dad a bit annoyed look, but smiled and said: "I'm eighteen already. I know what I'm doing."</p><p>"I'll tell you something after the party. I haven't told you yet and you should know. It's important," Stoick said with a raised finger and went back to sit on the couch. "Who's coming, anyways?" he asked as he took the book he put on the coffee table earlier in his hands.</p><p>"Astrid, Fishlegs, Heather and Dagur," Hiccup answered.</p><p>Stoick didn't even open his book and gave Hiccup another shocked look. "Dagur?!"</p><p>Hiccup just nodded and shrugged again.</p><p>"Why him?" he asked. Stoick remembered Dagur as a bully with anger issues who definitely wasn't mentally okay. He was a really troubled kid and he bullied Hiccup a lot. Daily actually. It was usually just teasing, which made Hiccup really uncomfortable and insecure, but occasionally, Dagur was able to hurt Hiccup physically and Hiccup didn't take any of it well. Oswald, Dagur's father and Stoick's close friend, sent his son away, probably to a mental hospital, saying it's for his own and everyone else's good. No one has seen Dagur for three years, except for his dad and his younger sister Heather, but a few months ago, he came back and started going to school again.</p><p>"Well... It wasn't originally my plan," Hiccup scratched his neck, "but I invited Heather and she really wanted for Dagur to come too. I know you probably won't agree with that, but he really did change. He hadn't been causing any trouble from the day he came back. And I thought I might give him another chance."</p><p>Stoick was just looking at him the whole time he spoke, then he shock his head, finally opening his book again. "Do what you see fit."</p><p>Hiccup was standing there for a while before eating the rest of his chocolate bar and throwing out the wrapping. He took his school backpack and went upstairs to his bedroom to get ready for the small pool party. As soon as he opened the door, he noticed a small black ball of fur lying in the center of his bed. He smiled, slowly approaching it and carefully sat down on his blanket.</p><p>"Hey there, Toothless." he said softly to the black cat and started petting it on it's back. Toothless started purring happily, stretched out his front legs and yawned after his midday nap. He then curled up next to Hiccup, letting him pet him more.</p><p>"Sorry bud, but I gotta get ready for a pool party now," he said standing up and went to his closet to find his swimming trunks. Toothless slowly opened his eyes and stretched his body again, then jumped off the bed and walked out into the hall though the slightly opened door.</p><p> </p><p>* * * * *</p><p> </p><p>In about an hour, the door bell rang and Hiccup immediately rushed downstairs to welcome his friends. He opened the door and there stood Astrid with Fishlegs. Both of them carried a bag with their own stuff for swimming, such as towels, sunscreen, or maybe even an inflatable toy.</p><p>Hiccup smiled at them brightly and welcomed them, letting them go inside.</p><p>"Heather texted me that she and Dagur are gonna be here in about fifteen minutes. Something held them back," Astrid informed Hiccup and bended down to scratch Toothless on his head.</p><p>"Alright. Thank you for letting me know," Hiccup said and went to the kitchen to get some chips for his visitors.</p><p>It felt like a few minutes when the door bell rang again. Hiccup went to the front door and opened them.</p><p>"Hi," Heather said with a warm smile. Hiccup smiled at her too, then looked to the readhead standing next to her. Dagur. He really did change, even visually and Hiccup still couldn't believe it. The man had messy short hair with side shaves, which Hiccup never saw on him before he came back after three years. He also had never seen Dagur with a beard. And if Hiccup was honest to himself, it suited him better.</p><p>"Come in," he let both of them in, but Dagur stopped at the doorstep, looking and smiling at the smaller boy.</p><p>"Thank you for inviting me, Hiccup," Dagur spoke, genuine smile of his lips as he slowly entered the house.</p><p>Hiccup raised his eyebrows and smiled a bit nervously. He still felt kinda uncomfortable and maybe even unsafe around that guy. "Oh, yeah, no problem."</p><p>Dagur eventually came inside and Hiccup was finally able to close the front door. He then turned around to see Dagur looking around the house. It must have been a bit special for him. He probably haven't visited any of his old friends in three years. And after one time, many years ago, when Dagur almost drowned Hiccup on one of his visits, Hiccup didn't let him come to any of his pool parties ever again. He really hoped Dagur won't do such a stupid thing again.</p><p>"Astrid and Fishlegs are already at the pool, so you can go join them, if you want to. I'll join you in a minute," Hiccup told Heather and Dagur before he went upstairs to his room to change.</p><p>In a few minutes, they were all outside, laughing and having fun. Heather and Astrid immediately jumped into the pool and started splashing water at each other. Fishlegs just finished inflating a ball and threw it at the girls in the pool. Astrid cought it and threw it to Heather, who threw it to Dagur who was sitting on a deck chair.</p><p><em>Just like when we were kids</em>, Hiccup though to himself. He was just inflating the lounger so he could also get in the pool with others, but would not have to be fully in the water.</p><p>He was distracted from his thoughts when Dagur threw him the ball. He didn't register it and it hit the side of his head.</p><p>"Hey! I wasn't paying attention," Hiccup laughed, taking the inflatable ball in his hands and threw it back at Dagur with force. The redhead just cought it and also laughed, throwing the ball back to Fishlegs.</p><p>Hiccup shook his head and went back to inflating the lounger. For some reason, he was not able to inflate it properly and after five minutes of sitting there, struggling and trying to figure it out, the lounger was still without air. Hiccup must have forgotten how to do it after so long of not using it.</p><p>"You need help?" Dagur's manly voice called from the side and Hiccup glanced in that direction. Dagur was looking at him over his sunglasses, clearly examining the boy and the lounger with a smirk. That's probably the only thing that hasn't changed about him. His crooked smiles.</p><p>"Um... No, I'm good," Hiccup said, looking away as he tried to blow in the valve again. He didn't really want Dagur to help him with it. If it was someone else, he'll accept it, but not really from Dagur. He was still kinda sceptical about him.</p><p>Dagur stood up and slowly approached the brunette boy. "C'mon, brother. I see how you're struggling with it," Dagur smiled, knelt down, so he would be at the same level as Hiccup and put his sunglasses up. "Gimme that," he ordered and sat down across from him, gesturing with his hand for Hiccup to give him the valve.</p><p>Hiccup was subdued by the fact that Dagur insisted on helping him and that he called Hiccup a brother. He was surprised Dagur still remembered that nickname and still wanted to use it.</p><p>Reluctantly, the boy gave Dagur the inflatable valve of the lounger and sat there, watching him. Dagur gave Hiccup another soft smirk before he started blowing in the valve. He visibly had no problems with it, as Hiccup saw how the lounger quickly started getting it's right form.</p><p>He didn't know what to say, and after all, Dagur would not be able to respond in that moment. So Hiccup just watched him, examining the appearance of the man sitting in front of him. He checked his haircut and beard again as well as the scar in his right eyebrow, but his eyes eventually wandered down to the man's body. Hiccup couldn't not notice that Dagur gained a lot of muscle mass over the years. His shoulders were wider as well as his chest and arms. Dagur was always more muscular than Hiccup, but not this much. The boy didn't want to admit it, but he was pretty amazed by it.</p><p>A few moments later, Dagur was done with the inflating and closed the valve, so no air could escape.</p><p>"Here ya go," he smiled at Hiccup and gave him the lounger back.</p><p>"Thanks," Hiccup responded.</p><p>"Guys, you two, stop chattering there and come to the pool!" Heather suddenly yelled at them and started laughing.</p><p>"If you want to, of course," Astrid added, because she knew Hiccup couldn't really go in the pool. </p><p>Heather turned to the blonde girl and splashed water in her face. "What kind of pool party would it be then?"</p><p>Astrid frowned, but laughed and paid the splash back. "We can't force them."</p><p>Both of the girls started laughing and fighting in the pool, water splashing everywhere. Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at them. He really did not expect that they would still be so playful at the age of eighteen.</p><p>"I'm coming!" Dagur suddenly screamed and ran towards the pool. He jumped and very elegantly dived in the water, almost no water splashing. When his red hair appeared above the surface, he started laughing like a maniac and Hiccup couldn't help it but shiver at the sound of the laugh. Everyone else was laughing with the redhead, but not Hiccup.</p><p>"C'mon, brother!" Dagur called at him when he stopped laughing.</p><p>Hiccup smiled a bit nervously and slowly stood up, taking his inflatable lounger in his hands. He came to the edge of the pool, but as soon as he looked straight into the water, he felt the anxiety in him rising. What if he'll fall from the lounger and won't get back up before he starts to change? What if something goes wrong? He knew he will be safe as long as he's not fully in the water, but still. What if...?</p><p>Hiccup took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he took the first steps in the water. Slowly, he placed the lounger on the surface and carefully lay down on it. He then used his hands to swim closer to his friends and smiled at them, hoping Heather and Dagur won't question why he took the inflatable toy with him.</p><p>But surprisingly, they didn't. They started talking, splashing the water at each other and messing around. And quickly, Hiccup's anxiety was gone and he also started having fun. He was still very careful and Astrid was constantly next to him, being ready to help if something went wrong. But other than that, everyone had a great time.</p><p>"I'm so glad you've decided to organise the party," Astrid told Hiccup when Dagur, Heather and Fishlegs were diving together in the pool. "I told you it was not gonna be a problem."</p><p>Hiccup had a bright smile on his lips and looked at his friend. "Yeah, you were right. Thank you for telling what you've said earlier. I shouldn't have been so scared."</p><p>Hiccup laid on his back, put his hands underneath his head and closed his eyes, letting the water calmly sway with him. It was amazing. He didn't even realise how much he missed all of this.</p><p>Meanwhile, Dagur was jumping with his sister in the pool, but this time, when he found himself under the water at the bottom of the deepest part of the pool, he looked up at the surface and saw a silhouette of the lounger right above him. He immediately thought what a great prank it would be to turn the lounger upside down, pushing Hiccup into the water. <em>After all,</em><em> the boy didn't actually go in the water the whole time, </em>Dagur though.</p><p>With a wicked smile on his face, he swam up with his hands above his head and pushed at the lounger.</p><p>Hiccup did not pay attention to anything that was happening around him, so he was in a shock when he suddenly felt the lounger underneath him turn around. He managed to scream but not take a breath, before he found himself surrounded by the cold water.</p><p>And then he panicked. Not only that he accidentally inhaled a bit of water from the shock, but he knew he was about to transform into a half fish if he won't get out of the water soon enough.</p><p>"Are you nuts?!" Astrid screamed at Dagur when he started laughing from how 'funny' his prank was.</p><p>"Hey, it's just a prank," he said between laughs.</p><p>As soon as Hiccup's head was above the surface, he inhaled sharply and started caughing from the water in his throat, not to mention that during his transformation, he always felt like if he was choking. He swam as quickly as possible to the border of the pool, which started being difficult for him as he begun having crapms in his legs. He crawled out of the water and knelt on the tiles, leaned forward and started caughing the water out. He was looking at his hands and noticed tiny dark scales appearing on his skin. He was positive he already started having those on his legs, too.</p><p>Astrid was right behind the boy and she jumped out of the pool as quickly as possible, took the nearest towel and put it over Hiccup so no one would see the scales.</p><p>"Are you alright?" she worried and Hiccup gestured for her to hit his back so he could cough the water out. She did as he requested and after a few hits, Hiccup was finally able to take a normal breath.</p><p>"Are you fucking serious?!" Astrid stood up and screamed at Dagur, who also just got out of the pool. "He could have drowned!"</p><p>Dagur already realised the situation might have been more serious than he thought, but for him it seemed like if Astrid was overreacting. "What? I just pushed him in the water. I thought he knew how to swim."</p><p>"How could you be so sure he would be okay with someone pushing him in the deepest part of the pool? Not to mention, how could you be so sure he didn't have a problem with swimming  or some kind of a block?" Astrid kept on yelling with anger, starting Dagur in the eyes.</p><p>Just to make it clear, Hiccup and Astrid came up with a cover-up story for why he was not able to swim or go into the water, so they would know what to tell people in a similar situations. It was partly based on what actually happened to Hiccup, but not quite.</p><p>"No one told me! How was I supposed to know then?" Dagur started feeling angry from how Astrid yelled at him, but when Hiccup looked at him from the ground, still slightly gasping and even shivering from the shock, his anger was replaced by worry.</p><p>"Look, I didn't mean to hurt him nor cause him a shock. I'm sorry, Hiccup."</p><p>Astrid was furious. "Well, maybe if you weren't so ignorant and cared about others, you would know!"</p><p>Those words really touched Dagur and his mouth dropped. He knew Astrid could sometimes be really aggressive, but he never thought she could say something like that. Dagur was really mad at this point, but he also felt hurt. When he looked around at others, his sister looked confused, but Fishlegs' expression looked just as angry as Astrid's. He felt like if they were telling him <em>Get out of here!</em></p><p>"Fine!" He walked to the deck chair that he was sitting on before, took his t-shirt and put it on. He took all his stuff he brought here, put it inside his bag, being ready to leave.</p><p>"Enjoy your pool party," he said, disgusted and angry, but his expression softened when he looked at Hiccup, who was also slightly frowning at him. He then turned around on his heel and went inside the house, then to the entrance door and left.</p><p>As soon as he was gone Astrid and Fishlegs knelt down to Hiccup, asking if he was alright.</p><p>"Yeah, I'm fine. I-it's okay," he responded and slowly stood up.</p><p>Heather was still confused and didn't understand what happened and why was Astrid so protective of Hiccup. "What happened?" she asked.</p><p>Astrid turned to the black-haired girl and put her hands on her waist. "Dagur pushed Hiccup of his lounger, but he didn't know about his... How should I say it? Block?" she tried to explain.</p><p>Heather thought for a second, then a realisation appeared on her face when it hit her. "Oh my gods, I totally forgot about your block, Hiccup," she said, face-palming herself. "I'm sorry my brother did that to you. Should I talk about it with him when I get home?"</p><p>Hiccup shook his head. "No, thanks. I'll talk to him on Monday." he answered. He finally calmed down from the shock, still holding the towel around himself.</p><p>Others also noticed he was feeling better now and Astrid smiled in relief. After a while, the three friends, except for Hiccup, went in the pool again. Hiccup checked if the scales on his body had dissapeared and when he did not see any, he took his towwel off and put it aside. He then laid down on a free deck chair that was near him and watched the sky and a tree above. He didn't feel like going to the pool again. At least not for today.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Some people might have been a bit confused about how does Hiccup transform. His transformation is going to be explained further in the story, but he simply grows a tail only if he's fully in the water and the transformation takes a while.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. We've both changed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Dagur wants to talk things out with Hiccup, so he invites him to go out. And surprisingly, they both have a pretty good time.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was Monday, new week has started and Hiccup was walking towards the school building. He was holding the straps of his backpack with both hands, looking down while he walked past all other students. He knew he had to talk to Dagur about what happened at the pool party. He had to explain everything, or at least tell him the cover-up story of why he could not go in the water, but he didn't look forward to that at all. He was still very distant from Dagur and he was even slightly scared of that guy. After all, Dagur used to bully him a lot.</p><p>Hiccup managed not to think about it for a while when his first class had started, even when Dagur kept on looking at him across the classroom. Dagur also knew he had to talk things out with the boy. Heather told him to and he even wanted to. He wanted to apologise, not only for what he had done on Friday, but for everything he had done to Hiccup in the past.</p><p>The bell rang, the lesson ended and Hiccup slowly headed to his locker to get the books for his next lesson. He opened the locker, took a few books out of his backpack and put them inside. When he put different books inside his bag, he looked up across the hallway and his sight met a pair of dark green eyes, more precisely, Dagur’s eyes, looking right at him. Hiccup immediately looked away, pretending as if nothing had happened and minded his own business. </p><p>The boy closed the locker, but before he could head out to the classroom, he was stopped. A strong figure, both muscular and fat, about the same height as the boy, was standing right in front of him and blocking his way. </p><p>"Hey there, fishbone," Thuggory said with a hoarse voice, leaning against the locker he was standing next to.</p><p>Thuggory, more often called Dogsbreath, was Hiccup's bully for a long time. He bullied pretty much everyone in the entire school, but he started bullying the boy even more after Dagur left. Dagur was always the number one bully in the school, he was basically the boss. After he left to seek help for his mental problems, Thuggory took the opportunity to become the number one.</p><p>Hiccup was not pleased to see the bully, especially today when he already had to deal with Dagur, who, technically, was also a bully. Hiccup just rolled his eyes and tried to walk around that guy, but the fat bully stopped him with his big arm.</p><p>"Where do ye think yer goin’?" Thuggory spat out and pushed the smaller boy back. Hiccup stumbled back a bit, but kept his balance and frowned at the guy.</p><p>"Can't you just mind your own business? I seriously don't have time for y-" Hiccup tried to fight back like he always did in these situations, but in that moment, Dogsbreath pressed him against his locker, not letting him go away. He looked into the boy's eyes with an evil grin and Hiccup hold his breath in shock. The hallway was almost empty with just a few people left, which meant no one would see if Thuggory had decided to hurt him. That’s what frightened Hiccup the most.</p><p>"Hey, Dogsbreath! Knock it off!" a voice called at the bully from the side and both Hiccup and Thuggory looked in that direction. A guy in a sleeveless, grey, jean jacket was standing there, his arms crossed as he was glaring at the bully. </p><p>But Thuggory didn't let go of Hiccup. “You won't tell me what to do!” he snorted stubbornly.</p><p>Dagur, the guy in the jean jacket, let his arms down, quickly approached the gross kid with an angry face. “I swear, if you won’t let him go...!” he raised his voice and stood right in front of him.</p><p>Thuggory finally let go of Hiccup, looking at Dagur and giving him a disgusted look. “Jeez, calm down. Ya care about that scrawny nerd?” he questioned annoyed and rolled his eyes, but then chuckled. “That’s kinda g-”</p><p>Dagur had enough. With a growl, he grabbed Thuggory by his t-shirt, pulled him closer and stared into his small eyes with a death glare. “I was gone for three years and you suddenly think you’re the boss here, huh?” Dagur said through his teeth. “If you even dare to talk to me like that again, or you’ll rise yourself above me, I’ll run you through and wear you ribcage as if it was a battle armour!”</p><p>Dogbreaths’ eyes widened at the threat he just received from the redhead, but did not say anything. Dagur and Thuggory were always rivals, but now, when Dagur was visibly stronger and more threatening than the other bully, Thuggory did not want to get into fights with him. He was positive he would lose against him. </p><p>Dagur was still glaring at him, but after a moment he pushed Thuggory back and said: “Now get out of my sight!” The other bully did not hesitate and turned around, heading out of there pretty quickly.</p><p>Dagur took a deep breath to calm down and reduce his anger, then he slowly turned around to face Hiccup. “You alright?” </p><p>All this time, Hiccup was standing there, leaning against his locker in a shock as he was watching the whole scene in front of him. He looked at Dagur with a confusion on his face. The anger in the redhead's expression was suddenly gone and replaced by a troubled look, which Hiccup never saw on Dagur's face before.</p><p>"Uh, y-yeah I'm fine," Hiccup spoke, still in shock. "I didn't expect you to do something like that."</p><p>"No problem. If that asshole ever messes with you again, just tell me," Dagur said and gave Hiccup a slight smirk, but not a crooked one.</p><p>Hiccup started being slightly suspicious. Why did the other guy save him from getting beaten up? Did Dagur actually care for him at least a little?</p><p>There was an awkward moment of silence between them when Hiccup gave Dagur the suspicious look, but Dagur wanted to break the silence. </p><p>"Look, I wanted to talk to you," he spoke, sounding calm. </p><p>"Well," Hiccup looked at the time on his phone. "I don't know if we'll have time for that because the lesson starts in about two minutes." </p><p>Dagur looked around the hallway real quick, then took a step closer to the boy, leaning against the locker with his hand. "I don't mean right now. I thought, maybe we could go somewhere after school and talk things out? You know… What happened on Friday and overall in the last three years?" he gave Hiccup a little smile and raised his eyebrows. </p><p>Hiccup didn't know how to answer for a moment. Dagur was in his personal space, which made him slightly uncomfortable, but he also wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go out with someone like Dagur. </p><p>After a few seconds of thinking, Hiccup sighed and gave in, which made Dagur smile a bit more. </p><p>"Great! So I'll meet you after the last lesson in front of the school building, alright?" Dagur suggested and stood upright, no longer leaning against the locker. </p><p>Hiccup shrugged nervously and faked a smile. "Yeah, sure." </p><p>"Okay, see ya there," Dagur said, pointing at Hiccup with a finger gun before turning around and quickly walking away. </p><p>Hiccup felt kind of embarrassed by the way Dagur treated him and he hoped no one from the hallway had seen them or gave them any attention. He didn't want to get associated with a person like him. </p><p>The boy inhaled and exhaled slowly, trying to relax. He then made sure his locker was locked properly before rushing to his next lesson as the bell started ringing. </p><p> </p><p>* * * * *</p><p> </p><p>It was 4pm and Dagur’s last lesson was over. He just came out of the building and looked around if he would see his <em> friend </em>somewhere, but unfortunately, he did not. He stood there for a while, constantly checking the time on his wristwatch, even though he was waiting there for just a few minutes, before walking towards a bench nearby. He sat down, checking the time again. He began to be slightly impatient and worried that Hiccup won’t come.</p><p>And if Hiccup should be honest, he actually thought about not going there and just head straight home. But he knew that would not help anything. On the contrary, it would probably make things between him and Dagur worse.</p><p>Hiccup walked out of the school building and immediately saw the redhead on a bench a few meters away from him. Dagur did not see him, he was on his phone and did not pay attention to his surroundings. </p><p><em> You still have a chance to walk away, </em>Hiccup told himself, but right when he did, Dagur looked up from his phone and his gaze met Hiccup. A bright smile appeared on his lips and the redhead stood up, slowly approaching the brown-haired boy.</p><p><em> Okay, nevermind, </em>Hiccup sighed and nervously started approaching the guy, too.</p><p>“Hiccup! Brother!” Dagur said happily and opened his arms, ready to hug the smaller boy. </p><p>Hiccup wanted to back away in that moment. He did not like to be hugged by anyone and he still remembered how Dagur used to almost crush him in his hugs. But before he could do anything, Dagur wrapped his big muscly arms around his slim body and pressed him against his chest. </p><p>“I started being worried you wouldn’t come.” Dagur said, still hugging the boy, but luckily, he didn’t crush him this time. That hug was still pretty uncomfortable for Hiccup, but at least it was not painful as it used to be. </p><p>Dagur eventually let Hiccup go, even though Hiccup had to push at his chest to indicate that he had enough, but did not really realise that the hug might have been unwelcomed.</p><p>“Dagur, we didn’t even agree on a specific time," Hiccup commented. </p><p>"Whatever. I'm glad you came."</p><p>Hiccup sighed and gave Dagur a slightly indifferent look. "What do you wanna do now?" he questioned. </p><p>"Well… I thought, maybe we could go to the town, a park or a beach and just… Hangout?" Dagur shrugged. His sentence sounded more like a question. </p><p>Hiccup listened, then also shrugged. "Doesn't sound bad…" </p><p>Dagur gave him a smile, then turned around and motioned for him to go with him. "Then let's go." </p><p>The brown-haired boy followed the guy, holding onto the straps of his backpack again. "But we're gonna stop by my house so I won't have to carry my bag the whole time," Hiccup insisted. </p><p>"Not a problem," Dagur chuckled quietly.</p><p> </p><p>* * * * *</p><p> </p><p>Both of the boys were walking down the street of the town of Berk and talked together, for now just about some random stuff. They both held an ice cream in their hands as it was pretty hot today, so something refreshing to eat came in handy. </p><p>“So, you’re telling me you spent three years in a mental hospital?” Hiccup questioned.</p><p>“Not exactly,” Dagur answered, taking a lick of his strawberry ice cream. "I spent there a year, but I still wasn't stable enough to go back to school. I went to several therapies after that." </p><p>Hiccup licked from his chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, still looking at the guy walking next to him. "How were the therapies going?" </p><p>"Better than I expected," the redhead raised his eyebrows. "We were doing some pretty fun exercises to cope with my anger and impulsive behaviour. Heck, they even taught me how to meditate!" Dagur laughed at that, his voice cracking a bit. </p><p>Hiccup giggled too, but it sounded forced. The redhead might have changed, but his laughter was still intimidating. </p><p>"And that's why I have to repeat two years of studies," Dagur explained, licking his ice cream again. "But enough about me. I wanted to talk about you and about the incident at the pool party."</p><p>Hiccup stopped for a second, then looked ahead the road they were walking on, thinking. </p><p>They were no longer on the street. Now, they were walking on a road which kind of worked as a border between the town and the sandy beach on the opposite side. The road was bounded by lines of trees, forming a beautiful alley with shadow as the trees were blocking the bright hot sun. </p><p>After a few seconds of silence, Dagur's smile vanished and he wasn't sure if Hiccup was thinking about something, or didn't want to tell him. </p><p>"You don’t have to if you don’t want to, of course," he said, sounding confident and calm, but on the inside, he felt a bit nervous. </p><p>"N-no, I'm just thinking how to start," Hiccup uttered. He haven’t told his cover-up story to anyone for a long time, so he had to organize everything in his mind.</p><p>Dagur nodded, feeling less tense now.</p><p>“I should probably start by telling you the basics, and that’s that I am kinda scared of water.”</p><p>Dagur gave Hiccup a confused look. “Wait, why did throw a pool party then?” </p><p>Hiccup sighed, licking his cookie ice cream. “You see, I’m not scared of water itself. I am okay with being near it, I’m okay with being partly in it, but if my body is fully in the water or I’m under the surface, I-I start panicking and get cramps. And there's a danger that I will drown.” Hiccup <em> lied </em>.</p><p>“Ooooh,” Dagur finally understood the problem. He then thought for a second, eating his strawberry ice cream. “When did it start? Or, what's the cause of it?”</p><p>The boy was silent for a few second, looking at the beach and the sea they were passing. This was the part of the story that was technically true, it just was not the whole truth.</p><p>“It was around three years ago when I was fifteen. Dad went on a voyage with some other fishermen and he wanted me to go with him. He believed that one day, I would also be a fisherman like him, so he wanted to show me how it all works and stuff and took me to the sea. I didn’t want to go, ‘cause I was sure it was not gonna be fun, but the voyage itself wasn’t actually that bad,” Hiccup told Dagur. “But unfortunately, something pretty bad happened.”</p><p>Dagur listened intently, watching the boy and trying to understand everything. “What was it?”</p><p>Hiccup glanced at Dagur, then looked down. “I don't know exactly, but I think we lost course. We had no idea where we were heading and entered dangerous waters by mistake.”</p><p>The redhead’s eyes widened a bit, but did not question anything. He didn’t want to interrupt.</p><p>Hiccup continued: “There was mist and we didn’t see anything, there were weirdly shaped sea stacks, it was so quiet and it all just gave this creepy feeling. But it got way worse when a storm hit us.”</p><p>Dagur held his breath and his eyes got even wider. “What happened then?” He already knew something really bad happened to Hiccup and the whole crew, but he started getting really curious about what it was.</p><p>“The sea got so violent and there were huge waves, it started raining within seconds, there was thunder and… It was horrible!” In that moment, Hiccup felt like if he was able to see it all before his eyes again. “I remember how wild the sea suddenly got, how I could not stay on my feet because the waves swayed with the ship so much. Everyone was screaming and trying to get to safety and my dad was calling at me to hide or to hold onto something, but the deck was so slippery I couldn’t even stand up.” Hiccup swallowed and looked at Dagur sadly.</p><p>Dagur gave him a worried look, but didn’t say anything. Seeing the boy with such a sad face made him feel horrible.</p><p>“Once when I slipped, I fell on my back and hit my head badly. Then everything became blurry and I don't know how, but I fell overboard. Then I blacked out. I woke up on a shore, my dad was holding me in his arms and I was in so much pain and I had no idea what happened."</p><p>Dagur felt even worse when Hiccup told him about this. "That's… I don't even know what to say other than it's horrible that you had to experience that!" The redhead looked sadly at the boy next to him. "And what about the rest of the crew?" Dagur asked. </p><p>"It turned out that my dad, Gobber, who was there too, and I were the only ones who survived the event. The rest of the crew had gone missing. I was taken to the hospital when they found me because I somehow lost my left leg and I was bleeding a lot. That's basically how I got my peg leg," Hiccup raised his left leg to show off his prosthetic. </p><p>Dagur remembered that back then, those three years ago, Hiccup didn't go to school for a few weeks and when he came back, he was missing a leg. He heard some rumours about something happening to him and about some incident happening on that voyage. </p><p>"I'm so sorry to hear that, Hiccup. That must have been traumatising…" Dagur said with a low voice, sounding dejected. Hiccup turned to him, being a bit surprised as he had never heard Dagur speak in that tone.</p><p>"It was," Hiccup sighed. "That's why I'm not able to go into the water," he lied. The story he just told was truthful, he just didn't tell Dagur everything. It was true that he was traumatised by it, but after a year of intensive therapies and the fact that water and the sea wasn't his enemy anymore, he got over it pretty quickly. "But I'm much better now, so don't wo-" </p><p>Hiccup didn't even finish the sentence when he felt Dagur wrapping his arms around him from the back. The redhead didn't crush him, it was actually the other way around. He was so gentle and careful like never before. And Hiccup was, once again, surprised by that. It was a comforting hug. </p><p>"I'm sorry…" Dagur said quietly that it was almost a whisper. </p><p>Hiccup eventually pushed Dagur away, escaping the hug. It was less uncomfortable than before, but it still made him feel awkward. </p><p>"D-dagur, could you please stop hugging me like that? I'm not really comfortable with being hugged," Hiccup spoke, hoping it wouldn't sound mean. </p><p>Dagur was taken aback, but then smiled a bit nervously. "Oh, yeah. Of course. I didn't realise it might have been uncomfortable, sorry," he apologised. </p><p>"That's okay. You didn't know."</p><p>Dagur was still smiling, but his smile slowly disappeared. "I want to apologise for what I did. I really didn't know you had the trauma and I thought it was gonna be fun to push you in the water. I really didn't mean to hurt you in any way."</p><p>Hiccup started being rather fed up with Dagur apologising constantly. "That's also okay. And you really don't have to apologise all the time."</p><p>Dagur put his hands inside his pockets and snorted. He didn't say anything, which meant there was once again an awkward silence between them. </p><p>"Maybe we should change the topic. Um…" Hiccup broke the silence and quickly looked around. "Where shall we go now?" the boy asked and threw away a napkin he was left over from his ice cream.</p><p>Dagur though for a second, then he looked up at the sky and his eyes lit up when he saw the sun getting closer to the horizon. "I know! There's this small pier not too far away from my house and it's kinda hidden, so not many people know about it. I like to go there when I want to relax and it's a great place to watch sunset from!" </p><p>Dagur sounded really excited about it, which made Hiccup's corner of his mouth flinch in a little smile. </p><p>"Sounds good to me."</p><p> </p><p>The boys took a bus, so they could get there faster. After all, they went for a walk on the other side of the town than where the place that Dagur talked about was, so walking there would take at least an hour. </p><p>They arrived to the district where Dagur lived and the redhead lead Hiccup the way they needed to go. Hiccup didn't know this part of the town at all. It was right next to the district where he lived, but he never had the chance to come here. </p><p>"How long are we gonna walk there?" the smaller boy asked as they both were slowly getting closed to the sea. </p><p>"It's only a few minutes away," Dagur answered. </p><p>They didn't talk to much on their way there, but then they got to the last line of houses and Dagur started getting excited again. Bushy trees started appearing next to the road and their long, loose branches were covering everything behind them, so the sea wasn't almost visible. Dagur came closer to those trees and pushed a few branches away, revealing a small path towards a really tiny rocky beach. </p><p>"Go on," Dagur smiled at Hiccup, holding the branches, so the boy could walk through there. Hiccup did as he was told and Dagur let the branches fall down again. </p><p>Hiccup took a few steps forward and was pretty surprised by what he saw. The tiny beach was full of small, round and colorful pebbles. The sea water was crystal clear, the waves were quietly washing the rocks on the beach and the whole place was really neat. In the middle of it all, there was a wooden pier coming out of the water. The whole place was surrounded by trees with loose branches full of leaves and together with the slightly orange and pink sky and the sun that was about to set, it created this great spectacle. </p><p>“Wow…” Hiccup breathed in amazement and looked over his shoulder at the other guy. “I didn’t expect for it to look like this.”</p><p>Dagur chuckled with a pleased smile. “That’s why I took you here.”</p><p>Hiccup took the first step on the pier, still looking around as Dagur walked slowly behind him. When they got to the end of it, Dagur slowly sat down, letting his legs dangle from the edge right above the water. He then looked at Hiccup, waiting for him to sit down too. Hiccup wasn't so sure about it. What if Dagur took the advantage of it and pushed him in the water? He still wasn’t really sure if he could trust that guy. Eventually, the boy hesitantly sat down next to the redhead, but didn't let his legs go over the edge.</p><p>Dagur still had that pleased smile on his lips. He then turned his face towards the sun, closed his eyes and took a deep breath in. As he exhaled, he relaxed his shoulders, eyebrows and his entire body. </p><p>“I love to go here to meditate. The sound of waves and trees and the scent of the sea is so calming...” Dagur said with a low voice and opened his eyelids, then looked back at Hiccup with a genuine smile. </p><p>Hiccup almost could not believe what he saw. He had never seen Dagur with a smile like this. He was used to Dagur having only that smirk or a psychopathic grin on his face, he seldom smiled normally. But this was different. This smile made Hiccup feel warmth in his heart and even made him feel peaceful. This smile made him feel like Dagur really had changed. </p><p>“Try it! Close your eyes, breathe in and as you breathe out, forget about all your worries. Let them be,” Dagur spoke, sounding very peaceful. </p><p>Hiccup did as Dagur told him. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, exhaled and when he opened his eyes again to look directly at the sunset, he couldn’t help it but smile. He suddenly felt no tension in him and felt… happy.</p><p>Hiccup didn’t even notice that Dagur was still looking at him. He eventually took his eyes off the boy and watched the sunset with him, not saying a word. Another moment of silence was between them, but it wasn’t awkward at all. It felt natural and it was nice not to talk for a while and just enjoy the moment.</p><p>The sun slowly went down and disappeared behind the ocean. Dagur was no longer paying attention to the horizon, but looked at Hiccup again. He found it astonishing how much the boy had changed. He went from this scrawny, small, awkward kid that was scared of everything to this really handsome young man. He grew up a lot and was almost the same height as Dagur. His jawline was much more defined, cheeks still full of freckles, but those innocent green eyes were still the same. His hair was messier than it used to be, but this time, it actually looked good.</p><p>Hiccup finally turned to face Dagur, when he caught that guy staring at him. His smile softened and he frowned a little. “Why are you looking at me like that?”</p><p>Dagur giggled, shrugging. “You’ve changed a lot.”</p><p>“Uh, I did?”</p><p>Dagur laughed at that. “Are you serious? Of course you did. Look at you! All grown up.”</p><p>He then quickly examined Hiccup from top to bottom and moved his head closer to him, smirking. ”And quite the ladies’ man, I’d wager,” he teased, catching Hiccup off guard.</p><p>Hiccup felt his cheeks heat up in embarrassment. "Ugh, I should have expected for you to say something like that." </p><p>Dagur laughed and his voiced cracked a bit, which totally ruined how calm and innocent he seemed to Hiccup just a minute ago. "Haha! Just messing with ya!" he pushed into Hiccup's shoulder playfully. </p><p>Hiccup was embarrassed, but also kind of flattered. He was never told anything like this by anyone. Even though he doubted Dagur actually meant it seriously. </p><p>“Fine, so you laughed.” Hiccup giggled too, then looked at his phone screen to check the time. “It’s getting kinda late and I still have something to do, so… should we get goin’?” the boy asked with raised eyebrows, pressing his lips together.</p><p>With a shrug, Dagur looked at his wristwatch. “If you want to.”  He stood up and offered Hiccup his hand to help him up on his feet. Hiccup hesitated, but accepted Dagur’s hand and got up. Dagur gave him a smile and Hiccup smiled a bit too, before the brown-haired boy slowly walked on the pier, heading back towards the road behind the trees.</p><p>The boys went to the bus stop, so Hiccup could get back home. When they got there and waited for the bus, Dagur looked Hiccup in the eyes, that soft and kind smile on his lips again.</p><p>“Hiccup, I wanted to say thank you for giving me the chance to talk to you, so I could understand you better,” Dagur spoke.</p><p>Hiccup was once again astounded by how different and calm the guy standing in front of him was. “Um, you’re welcome, I guess?” Hiccup chuckled and Dagur chuckled with him. Then, the redhead looked over the boy to see the bus arriving.</p><p>“Your bus is here.”</p><p>Hiccup turned around to look at the bus too and when he turned back, Dagur was smirking at him with opened arms. </p><p>“One last hug?” he asked, teasing a bit. “You don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” Dagur added when he saw the confusion in Hiccup’s face.</p><p>“Oh, no, I-I’m good,” Hiccup stuttered, but he appreciated that Dagur asked him in the first place. He then looked behind to see that the bus just stopped and opened the door. “I better get going.”</p><p>Dagur laughed. “Alright! See you tomorrow at school, brother!” The guy called before Hiccup quickly hopped on the bus. </p><p>Hiccup sat in the first empty seat he saw and looked out of the window. Dagur was still standing there, waving at him and Hiccup slowly waved back. The bus then closed the door, set off and Hiccup watched as Dagur disappeared behind the first turn. </p><p><em> I guess he really did change a lot, </em>Hiccup thought to himself and the corner of his mouth twitched a little. With a sigh, he straightened up, getting more comfortable in his seat before he took his earphones out of his pocket and put them inside his ears.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I've added the character of Thuggory Dogsbreath from the HTTYD books because I had no idea which other character should have been the bully 'cause all other options didn't seem right.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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